Spindle



Dec. 16, 1952 E. J. WELLS 2,621,452

SPINDLE Filed Dec. 21, 1951 2 SHEETSSHEET l INVENTOR. Ear/ J Wefls Amember 0/ the firm Patented Dec. 16, 1952 TED OFF-ICE v Q t k-1-Z,621,4'52 v *LSPINDEE han J.-*We l!s, common Calif. I 'ApliczttionDecentber 21, 1951, Serial No. 262, 86?

. 4 vClaitns. Cl. 551-166) "This invention relates 'to' a 'ehuckmnd-=spind1e *which particularly- 'adapted fdr use in holding rotary toolssuch as grinding -o'r cutting wheels.'imthoughthe'devi-cecanbe-madeinvarious sizes to accommodate varioustools, -it 'is -particu lai ly 'r'adapte'd for*use 'in conjunctionWith-very small itooisf 'which'ane" driveirat highratesof speed, on

the 'order of 20,000 13,. -'M., sueh *as small grinder s.

in is the object-'of t-he resent invention to pro- 10 'vidwa spindleandmhuck structure 30')? generally improved -design which 'is capable ofoperating "iat hig'htspeeds. v v

Another obje'ct--=of this invention isfto provide a "spindl-e'which *can'be controlled with a sflng-ie lever whereby the spindle-*can-be*stopped withnoutrstopping the driving motor, canbe 'braked'rap'id'ly to 1'a'-Stop, vcan be locked :so *that the 'icutting tool is,held firmly in place, '"and canfibe :"Anotherobject" of this invention"is -"to*provi'de i'a-S'SpinfiIe with -asilm'a'lemeans of adj usting'tthe *tensi'on the driving belt.

"Since"spindles"frequentlyoperate"athie'hrates ""offspeed; it'wouldihevery time-consuming ifithe {disclosed V Jln 'Lthe "drawingsaccompanying this ia'i ph- :cation,

Figureiiiijisa erspec'tiveWiew ,offmfyi' mplto'vd f-scon'struotionlen'ibof'cly ng' t present"invefitionfisi :12 -tion, 'showing theposition which the partsfiasslime when-the spindle is in the lockedposition.

Fig-ure 7 -'is asimilar viewshov'vi n'g the position -Which the parts'assume when the chuck is' in a '1oeked positionand when -the collet isloo'sened. Figure 8 is a view of the lever used to-shi'ft the spindleand- Fig'ure 9 isa cross section thereofion theline 949 of Figure '8.

#Rfe'rrihg now to the drawings by-firef'erefice "numerals; there isshown a base to and :a mot'or 1 2 having aeriv ing belt -l 4 thereon.lhespin'die which forms the presentinvention has been-generally--ine1icated at $6. 1 The spindle is hel'd i'n place on the base i H) bymeans -of =a support 18 -and the spindleis' -prevented from rotation by'a -la-mp 2B he-ldby-serews 22 on the support fli. hs is'apparent fromFigure 1,- the shaftofithe spindle is ofinenter fromthe-'bodyof-the-spindle housing-and if one-desires to-adj-ust the belttem sion, it is only necessary to loosen the sc'rews n and rotate thehousing slightly. I-n addition, such structures ordinarily provide aneye shield '24 to --proteet the user from smallfragments O 'thrown from'the -eutti-ng Wheel.

The spindle proper includes a -=housing -2 6 6f -genera11y cylindricalform and made --from-stee1 "or other suitable-metal. I herearetwocylindrical bores parallel to the =axis of-the -housingifi. -a -1argebore 28 --Whieh accommodates the shaft 30 andassociated -equipment,--anda smai ler' bore iw 5 *their' travel is determined-by the "and "the'races providedon shaft32. v housings "'142 and-Mare heldlooselyiinjifla-ce'fhy figure firis a schematic viewi partiaiiyimsecadapted to receive the shifting rod. The spindle proper consistsofa shaft 32 and -a secondshaft 34,sha'ft :32 having at the end thereofa conieal extensionit and sha ft 34 having at the matching end atapered-hole '38. The conioalmemberiilfi is adaptedto fit in the hole"38 and When' the two are placed together, motionfromthe-shaft*-32'- wii1 -be communicated to the shaft 34" and =-when the i twoshaitsareseparated --s1ight1y, motion wiil no longer be communicated between--the' ;-.two, =eonstituting a-clhtch. The shaft 32 is suspended bymeans of --ba11 bearings 4:) I from-two subhousings, designated 42and-=44. -Thesubhousinjgs fl and 14*arehe1drapart by a springdfi,ancttheflimitiof balrbea'rings qfl "Iheittibmeans"of-screwsi'5il"and"52. Theredsga ight clearance between ,thesubho'u'sins and i h 1:5 "screwsfso' thatfitheifsubhoufsifigs farefheIdT iniap- "'prox-hnately the 'correctjpos'itionby. means'jofithe srews ,1bi1t a h l firml t e eb f ih s. the subhonsings jfioat betweenthe twdballyraces a-rtdaccurate a1i gnment'= is obtained. "To'provfde onon the bearings-a small hole 54' 1eads -from the oil holder 56 to thevicinity of the two screws 50 and 52. Since these screws do not fittightly in place, it is apparent that oil can drip past them into theinner part of the housing and lubricate the internal mechanism. Thesubhousing 42 must be clamped in place, as will be later apparent, and aconvenient means for doing this is a set screw 58. The end of shaft 32which protrudes from the housing forms a pulley 48 which may be drivenby means of the belt [4.

As can be seen from the drawing, the shaft 34 is suspended fromsubhousings Bil-62 and ball bearings in the same manner as shaft 32. Thesubhousings 60 and 62 have key-ways 64 and 66 cut therein so that thescrews 52 prevent these subhousings from rotating, but allow thesubhousings to move in a direction parallel to the axis of the spindle.

In order to move the assembly provided by the subhousings 60 and 62,shaft 34 and the associated equipment, a shifting rod 12 is providedwhich moves in the hole 30. The rod 12 is connected to the subhousing 62by means of a screw 14 so that movement of lever '12 controls themovement of subhousing 62. A spring '15 is provided which is loaded incompression so that the lever, 12 is ordinarily biased by the spring tothe left (as shown in Figure 5). It is apparent from this that if thelever 12 is not acted upon by any external force, it will urge the shaft3 into engagement with the shaft 32, and thus engage the clutch so thatthe two shafts will revolve as one. In order to move rod 12, a lever 18is provided. The lever 18 fits into a hole 80 which extends at rightangles to the axis of the housing 25. The lever 18 has a cam surfacetherein, 82, so that rotation of the lever will move rod 12 from itsnormally biased position to the right. Lever I8 is equipped with an arm19 so that it can be readily turned.

As is shown in the drawings, shaft 34 protrudes from the housing and isprovided with a shoulder 84 and a hollow end 86 having a threadedportion 88. A chuck 9i) fits over the end of shaft 34, and is held in anextended position by a stiff spring 92. A collet 94 is screwed into the.threaded portion 88 so that the chuck 98 is restrained in movement inone direction by the stiff spring 92 and is restrained from movement inthe other direction by the collet 94, as well as by the shoulder 96 ofthe chuck.

A cap-like member 21 is provided on the end of the housing 26 which hasan aperture 98 which is of sufficient size to accommodate the main bodyof the chuck 9B. The cap 21 has an abutment I which serves to engage, insome positions, the collar 96 on the chuck.

It is apparent from the above that the shaft 32 is turned by the motorand stays in the same relative position to the body of the chuck at alltimes. The shaft 34 may be moved back and 'forth due to the fact that itis not held in place in a positive manner, but may slide within thehousing as the result of the sliding engagement between the screws 52and the key-ways 64 and 66. Of course, there is no substantial relativemovement between the subhousings 60 and 62 and the shaft 34 and thewhole sub-assembly moves back and forth as a unit.

When no force is exerted by the cam 82 on the rod 12, the light spring'16 tends to keep the shaft 34 in the position shown in Figure whereinthe clutch is engaged and the shaft I9 is held firmly by the collet inthe chuck. When the arm 18 is turned slightly, the cam 82 pushes the rod12 to the right, which in turn moves subhousings B0 and 82 to the right,disengaging the clutch. As the cam 82 is turned further, the collar onthe chuck 96 engages the abutment I00, acting as an effective brake forthe chuck and bringing it to a rapid stop. In this position, the chuckis held firmly and the work piece 19 is also held firmly by the collet.

Thus, when the lever '18 is in this position, one may make anyadjustment required, such as tightening the screw 2| as the shaft i9 isheld firmly in place. This position of the parts is clearly shown inFigure 6.

As the cam 82 is moved still further, the shaft 34 is moved further tothe right and, since the chuck can move no further to the right, thisresults in a compression of the stiff spring 92 which in turn loosensthe collet from engagement with the jaws of the chuck, permitting one towithdraw the shaft 18 from the collet and to replace it with a shaft ofsimilar size, or to remove the collet altogether for replacement. Itwill be noted that the forces acting on the cam 32 when the levers inthis position are balanced, so that there is no tendency for the arm 18to rotate. Thus, with the spindle locked in this position, it is notnecessary to maintain any pressure on the arm 19 connected to the lever18. This position of the parts is clearly shown in Figure 7.

The chuck of the present invention enables one to have a grinding wheelor similar cutting tool operating at a high rate of speed, such as20,000 R. P. M., to stop the wheel without stopping the driving motor,replace or adjust the cutting tool and then bring the cutting wheel upto speed, all in a matter of a few seconds.

I claim:

1. A spindle holder comprising a cylindrical housing having alongitudinal eccentric bore therein, a driving shaft rotatably mountedin part of said bore anda driven shaft rotatably mounted in theremainder of said bore, a clutch between the two shafts, means formoving the driven shaft in said bore to engage and disengage the clutchand a chuck carried by said driven shaft having a collar thereon, ashoulder on said cylindrical housing adapted to engage said collar and acollet mounted on said driven shaft normally held in a closed positionby said chuck and adapted to be released by relative movement of thedriven shaft and the chuck, said movement being accomplished by pressureon said collar from said shoulder.

2. A spindle holder comprising a cylindrical housing, having alongitudinal eccentric bore therein and a driving shaft and a drivenshaft rotatably mounted in said bore, a clutch between the two shafts,said driving shaft being restrained against axial movement and saiddriven shaft having restricted axial movement, a chuck having a collarthereon mounted on said driven shaft, a collet threadably mounted onsaid driven shaft and held in a normally closed position by the chuck,an abutment on said housing adapted to engage the collar of the chuckand cause relative movement between the chuck and the shaft, shiftingmeans for axially moving the driving shaft comprising a rod adapted formovement in a second longitudinal ofiset bore in the housing,interconnecting means between the rod and the driven shaft and a springtending to normally bias the driven shaft into engagement with thedriving shaft. 3. The spindle holder of claim.2 wherein the movement ofthe rod is controlled by a cam;

4. A spindle holder comprising a cylindrical REFERENCES CITED housinghaving longltudmal eccentric bore The following references are of recordin the therein and a driving shaft and a driven shaft file of thispatent: rotatably mounted in said bore, a clutch between the two shafts,said driving shaft being UN TE AT restrained against axial movement, achuck having a collar thereon mounted on said driven Number Name Date306,560 Van De Water Oct. 14, 1884 shaft, a collet threadably mounted onsaid 1,370,964 Hansen Mar. 8, 1921 driven shaft and held in a normallyclosed po- 1,500,122 Fowler July 8, 1924 s1t1on by the chuck, anabutment on said hous- 10 2,420,836 Nelson, Jr. May 20, 1947 mg adaptedto engage the collar of the chuck 2 483 590 Mitchell Oct 4 1949 andcause relative movement between the chuck 3 3 Grierson 1950 and theshaft, said clutch being engaged when the shafts are in contact anddisengaged when FOREIGN PATENTS said shafts are out of contact, saidcollar con- 15 y t tacting said abutment and acting as a brake Coun Dateas the shafts are moved further from engage- 395536 Germany May 1924ment and said abutment pressing the collar of the chuck and opening thecollet as the shafts are further separated. 20

EARL J. WELLS.

